Big Sam and Irishman team up to sell baby milk to China
Simon Rowe LONDON-BASED Irish accountant Shane Moloney and his client former England manager Sam Allardyce, who quit his post last week in disgrace, have emerged as investors in a baby formula company.
The duo are among the shareholders in a new firm, Global Baby & Infant Formula Limited, which has teamed up with food ingredients giant Kerry Group to target the $2.4bn infant formula market in China.
UK company filings reveal the company was registered last year with Samuel Allardyce and Shane Gerard Moloney listed among its shareholders.
Irish-born Moloney, who works for London accountancy firm Shipleys, is also listed as a company director.
Its registered office is listed as Shipleys in Haymarket.
Irish exports of infant formula to China are booming.
China imports about three quarters of its formula from Europe, and Ireland is the second biggest exporter to China, behind the Netherlands, which accounts for 34pc of the market.
According to the company’s website, Global Baby & Infant Formula Limited owns the baby and infant formula brand “Nuby Baby & Infant Formula which is manufactured by Kerry Foods”.
Irish-produced milk formula has been in huge demand in China since a 2008 scare killed six babies and made 300,000 ill from domestic formula products made from milk adulterated with melamine, a toxic chemical which artificially boosted the milk’s protein count.
The four main infant formula companies exporting to China from Ireland are Wyeth, now part of Nestlé, Abbott, Danone and Kerry Group.
China Retail magazine reported in July that the Nuby brand was preparing to launch a major online offensive. It said that the company’s products would be sold on China’s most popular e-commerce platforms.
Attempts to contact Moloney, who is an accredited member of Chartered Accountants Ireland, were unsuccessful.
Another major shareholder in Global Baby & Infant Formula Limited is Holtal Limited.
Holtal was previously party to a costly High Court dispute between businessmen over a company set up to sell baby milk formula to China.
The dispute concerned a court petition under the Companies Act for an injunction restraining alleged oppressive conduct by fellow shareholders. The case was settled in January 2015.